ZHAW Investigates Cyberattacks on Switzerland

(CONNECT) The Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) is investigating real-world cyberattacks to strengthen Switzerland's resilience in this area. According to a press release, the project “Understanding the Decision-Making of Experienced Incident Responders during Critical Cyberattacks on Swiss Organizations” by the ZHAW School of Management and Law aims to improve decision-making.

"Cyberattacks pose a growing threat to organizations worldwide," Nico Ebert, a project manager at ZHAW, is quoted as saying in the press release. "Nevertheless, we still have an incomplete understanding of how organizations actually make decisions and respond to attacks in such situations."

The project uses a decision-making process that has traditionally been employed in high-risk fields such as firefighting and emergency medicine. Actual cyberattacks that occurred were analyzed and discussed with expert partners. These include the International Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams (FIRST), the Healthcare Cyber Security Center (an association with 22 hospitals as members), the Financial Services Cyber Security Center (an association with 170 financial institutions as members), a network of Chief Information Security Officers, and the Network for Combating Digital Crime (NEDIK) of the cantonal police forces.

The analysis of all the information gathered is intended to strengthen Switzerland's resilience to cyberattacks. The project is supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF). ce/ww